Top US General Joseph Dunford has said he is committed to improve relations between Washington and Islamabad as relations between the two nations have deteriorated recently, mainly due to the presence of the sanctuaries of the terror groups.

Gen. Dunford, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the remarks as he was speaking to reporters in Belgium on Monday, Khaama press wrote.

“I’m committed to try to improve the relationship, and I do believe a military-to-military dialogue led by [Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command] with occasional reinforcement by [Secretary of Defense Jim] Mattis, myself and others, is the right approach,” he said.

Gen. Dunford further added “Do we agree on everything right now? No, we don’t. But are we committed to more effective relationship with Pakistan? We are, and I’m not giving up on that.”

This comes as Washington has increased pressures on Pakistan to act against the terror groups which are operating in its soil, specifically the Haqqani terrorist network which is blamed for the majority of the deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

The Afghan officials often blame the Haqqani terrorist network for the large scale attacks in Kabul and other parts of the Afghanistan, claiming that the network uses its safe havens in Pakistan for orchestrating such attacks.

The Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo had earlier said Pakistan continue to harbor terrorists who are posing threats to the United States.

In an interview with the CBS, Pompeo said “We see the Pakistanis continuing to provide safe harbor, havens inside of Pakistan for terrorists who present risks to the United States of America.”

Pompeo further added “We are doing our best to inform the Pakistanis that this is no longer going to be acceptable. So this conditioned aid, we have given them a chance. If they fix this problem, we are happy to continue to engage with them and be their partner. But if they don’t, we’re going to protect America.”